Gyre Shark
Joe Parker
Joe Parker devised a boat concept to remove plastic waste from the ocean. It’s an admirable project that deals with a large problem. Called the Gyre Shark, the Parker was inspired by the form of a whale shark and how they feed in creating his design. The vessel extracts plastic from highly polluted areas of the ocean known as Gyres, where large circulating currents trap the waste and break it down into smaller pieces that are then eaten by wildlife.
Parker’s solution is multifaceted: the floating plastic is guided into the Gyre Shark ‘s nets, which are attached to a conveyor belt by two floating rubber booms. The booms contain sonar technology to deter any wildlife. The conveyor belt extracts the plastic from the sea and drops it onto another conveyor where it is dried. There is also a triple filtration system on the front of the hulls, which collects micro plastics.
The waste is then stored on board until the Gyre Shark docks at a large cargo ship where the plastic can be sorted, stored and later returned to land and recycled into products.
“I started this project with the aim to solve the solution of plastic pollution in the sea, however throughout my research and development I discovered how much bigger the problem was than I originally thought,” Parker notes. “I hope this project can cause awareness of the issue of plastic pollution in the oceans and help make a change.”
